Manipulate (BTS)
by Sassi Neri
Summary: [BTS] Bangtan Boys visit Prague, Czech Republic to perform a showcase and maybe go sightseeing afterwards. But someone has different plans for them people are not what they seem. TaehyungxJungkook
1. Chapter 1 Accident

Jungkook sighed in relief. When he had decided that his health was worth more effort than he had been putting in for the last couple of weeks, he hadn´t anticipated all the externalities that came with eating more consciously. Namely, the excess fiber and water in the fruits and vegetables that he had been including in his diet so diligently, made him use the restroom on much more regular basis. As he sat in the stall and finally gave way to the pressure built up in his lower body over the last couple of hours of vigorous dance practice, he was flooded with feelings of happiness and gratitude for that very day and his life in general. He examined the random scribbling on the stall door in front of him. It was in English so it took him a while to decipher the meaning.

 _Why doesn't Chuck Norris have to flush the toilet? He scares the shit out of it!_

Jungkook snickered under his breath. Living healthy had its bright side after all. He was just finishing his business when the door to the restroom opened and somebody walked in.

"Hey, I have been trying to reach you!" sounded a deep voice full of excitement that Jungkook immediately recognized as Taehyung´s. "I just wanted to ask when you´re flying in. I thought maybe I could meet you somewhere for a bit before the show tomorrow," There was a moment of silence. "What do you mean? Why?" Another pause. Jungkook got up and was about to flush and leave the stall but his hand stayed hovering above the flusher when Taehyung´s voice rose in volume. "What other plans? This was supposed to be our romantic weekend, we´ve been planning it for weeks!" he exclaimed in accusation. Suddenly Jungkook felt like he was intruding. Taehyung didn´t talk much about his current relationship, he mostly just brushed of the teasing of the other Bangtan members when he zoned out for long whiles, texting back and forth with his boyfriend with a goofy smile stretched across his face. "I know, I'm sorry," Taehyung was muttering now, obviously ashamed of his strong reaction. "Can you at least try? Please! … Okay. … Okay, if they do, call me, alright? … Right. Well, bye then," he said sounding hurt. Jungkook felt sad for him. He waited until the other boy exited the restroom and then followed when the sound of footsteps in the hallway died down.

When he entered the practice studio a couple of minutes later, the other boy was sitting next to Jimin and JHope and seemed to be listening intently on what the boys were discussing. He looked over to the door to see who came in and their eyes met for a second before Jungkook looked away, heading to the center of the room to resume practicing his dance moves.

He wasn´t sure if he should offer Taehyung some words of consolation later. He didn´t consider himself to be particularly talented at any communication requiring empathy and tactfulness. His hyungs were good at that sort of thing. When his fellow BTS members were experiencing difficulties or having personal problems, he always settled for offering consoling hugs, a non-verbal reminder that he was there for them in case they wanted to share, but he usually didn´t take it any further than that. He could never quite think of anything to say anyway; all things that came to his mind were either jokingly dismissive or unhelpfully cliché, neither of which he deemed very helpful.

The showcase took place at an ice-hockey stadium converted into a concert hall. Taehyung deemed the choice of venue to be a little peculiar but then again, perhaps it was just another manifestation of how much the Czech loved their national sport. The ice was gone, replaced with a wooden floor and there was a stage set up at one end of the playing field. He walked around it a couple of times to get a feeling of the space that they would have to work with. He thought that the lights were perhaps more intense than at their other performances because he could hardly see anything beyond the edge of the stage. He didn´t mind for the performance itself, if anything, it would take the edge off his nerves if he felt like was just in the studio practicing with the others and didn´t see the audience, but he hoped the lights would be dimmed a little when they talked to their fans. He loved seeing the excitement on their faces, some grinning madly, some crying overwhelmed by their emotions. It was his favorite part of their shows when they got to see the impact their work had on their fans and it always made all the hard work worthwhile.

On his way back to their changing room Taehyung fished around in his pocket and pulled out his phone. Against his better judgement, he still hoped Ivan would reach out and say that he managed to get around whatever was holding him back from coming to the showcase. After all, it would be ironic as hell that even though Ivan had happened to go on a business trip to the Czech Republic for exactly the same weekend that BTS were performing there for the first time ever, he wouldn't make it to what was supposed to be his first BTS concert. Taehyung suspected that all this is just a part of some bigger surprise that his boyfriend had planned for him. It would make sense, he loved surprises.

He lit up his phone to find supportive messages from his family wishing him good luck at the showcase. No messages from Ivan. He was doing a good job making sense of their phone conversation the day before, how indifferent Ivan´s voice sounded when he told him he would miss the showcase. That was what had given away the act. If Ivan really couldn't come he surely would have sounded more stressed about it.

Satisfied with his conclusion, Taehyung rounded the last corner and saw the door labeled 'Satna 2' where their changing area had been set up. He heard the unusually frantic buzz of voices inside even before he reached for the door handle.

Inside, everybody was crouched around something on the floor. After a short inspection, that something turned out to be Jungkook, sitting on the floor clutching his ankle, his face twisted in pain.

"What happened?" Taehyung asked Yoongi who was standing next to him.

"Jungkook accidentally bumped shoulders with a foreign female and almost killed himself trying to get away from her," the older boy dragged out sarcastically.

Taehyung looked around the circle and immediately identified the foreign female who was now frantically apologizing to Jungkook, a worried expression on her face. With the little insight, it seemed like that contributed to his teammate's pained expression to a way larger degree than the injury.

"I-It's okay, I'm fine," Jungkook was stammering, not knowing where to look. He made a move to get up but the lady's hand on his shoulder made him freeze in the spot quickly enough. Taehyung tried his best to wipe the smile from his lips and look concerned, but it was hard - the situation was just too comical.

"No, Jungkook ssi, I heard it crack, you stay right where you are," the woman said resolutely and straightened up, dialing quickly on her cell phone. "My friend is a doctor in a hospital nearby, we should have it x-rayed. I have a car, I will drive you there. Shihyuk ssi, you will kindly come too, right?" she addressed the manager. "Oh god, if I have just ruined your dancing career, I will never forgive myself!" she exclaimed and turned around, pacing back and forth across the room, the phone pressed to her ear. If somebody in the room had a different idea about the preferred solution, they didn't dare to protest in face of the energetic female.

"Who is that?" Taehyung inquired. The woman was obviously Czech, speaking the harsh sounding language at a rapid speed into the phone now.

"She is our translator and one of the event managers. Nobody could pronounce her last name so she told us just to call her Eva. She popped in to introduce herself and I guess our maknae couldn't handle it like a normal person," explained Yoongi and then he disinterestedly walked back to his mirror since Jungkook was now ensuring everyone that he was truly fine. (Yet he didn't dare to stand up for obvious reasons.)

"All right, he said we could come right away. If you were so kind and helped me get him into the car…?" by the time the translator nodded to the boys, JHope and Jimin were already helping Jungkook to his feet. "Take him to the main entrance, I will be right there," she instructed them and turned to her phone again to dial another number. That´s when she spotted Taehyung staring at her. "Ah, Taehyung ssi, I don´t believe we have met," she extended her hand for a handshake and smiled pleasantly. "My name is Eva Brouzdalovicka, I am the event manager and I will be translating for you during the show. It is very nice to meet you."

Taehyung accepted her hand. Her grip was warm and firm, just like he had expected. "Nice to meet you too," he replied.

"I´m sorry, I need to take care of this mess. Perhaps we will get to talk later," she flashed him another smile before she turned away, walking briskly out of the room speaking foreign again. Taehyung felt like a train had just sped by him.


	2. Chapter 2 Showcase day

Jungkook felt drowsy. The doctor had given him something for the pain, but honestly, Jungkook wasn´t sure he would still be in pain even without the medication, local numbing spray, and a tight bandage around his ankle. He hadn´t dared to protest though, especially after x-ray pictures of his foot had been shoved in his face. The doctor kept pointing at something which looked like a completely normal ankle to Jungkook, and he gave such a lengthy and technically detailed analysis that nobody else in the room understood what exactly was wrong but that something was definitely wrong. Eva tried to translate bits here and there but none of it made much sense to her or anybody else, so in the end she settled for getting across the doctor´s instructions. Jungkook was allowed to go through the showcase with his leg properly immobilized, with no physical strain before or afterwards. When he wasn´t on the stage, he would be using crutches. After the performance was finished, he was to go straight back to the hotel, unbandage the leg, prop it up on a pillow and rest. And then rest some more. Actually, it seemed like according to the doctor it was very important that he would not use his leg for the rest of the weekend if he didn´t want it to fall off. Jungkook wondered if everyone in the Czech healthcare system was so dramatic.

He sat at one end of the semi-circle they formed, his leg propped up on a chair, trying to pay attention as they went over their speeches for the event with the translator.

"…and I studied very hard and I had amazing results," Namjoon was saying. "My parents and teachers were very proud of me. But it didn´t make me happy because I had no dreams of my own. I did those things because I was told to, not because I wanted. And that is why I encourage you to have dreams and go after them because you deserve to be happy," he finished with a satisfied expression. He had always been very proud of his revelation when he found that doing what he loved was far more fulfilling than being praised by his surroundings for being smart. There was a silence and when Jungkook looked up at the translator, he was surprised to find a lenient smile stretched across her lips as she looked into the paper and contemplated the translation. It wasn´t the pleasant agreeing kind of smile, on the contrary, Jungkook couldn´t help the feeling that it was of a quite condescending nature like she considered what his hyung had just said not to be of any real value. "Is something wrong? You don´t agree, Eva ssi?" Namjoon nodded to the translator. It was polite, but Jungkook was aware of the slight hint of defiance in his voice. He knew this message was very important to him and he was prepared to fight for it with any adult, Korean or not.

She didn´t answer right away. Instead she looked around the circle and then her gaze lingered on Namjoon. "I think everybody should read Kahneman´s Thinking Fast and Slow. Have you heard of that book?" she asked thoughtfully. When she got only confused shrugs in response she continued. "It is about the psychology of errors in judgement."

Namjoon wasn´t quite sure what to say to that. "Errors in judgment?" he repeated.

"Yes. There is a beautiful chapter on optimism and how people tend to be far too over-confident in their contributions to the success they have achieved."

"You mean that we don´t deserve the success we have had?" Yoongi raised his eyebrow and pierced her with his gaze. "What else would we owe it to if not our own hard work?"

"Luck." Eva smiled at his shocked expression. "Jin ssi, you have been scouted, right? Imagine what that day would have looked like if you ate some bad food the day before and you were lying in bed with food poisoning instead. What better demonstration of luck do you need? Of course it is important, how talented and hard-working you all are, but how many other people are exactly as talented and hard-working and fail anyway because they were unlucky. Do you know that 65% of small businesses close within the first five years of their existence?"

"What does that have to do with having dreams?" Yoongi retorted irritably.

"Well since I presume we´ve just agreed most people who go after their dreams are more likely to fail and drown in debt, I would object that telling your thirteen-year-old fans to drop out of school and follow their dreams is bad influence," Eva folded her hands across her chest. The atmosphere in the room had turned heavy and unpleasant. Jungkook exchanged awkward looks with Taehyung who was sitting next to him. The translator herself looked uncomfortable and after a while she cleared her throat and continued more calmly. "I apologize. I have a little sister and she is not doing very well at school. It is really hard to make her see that her chances of getting a good job in a country where nearly everybody has a degree are slim with poor education but she just doesn´t seem to get it. Watching super attractive, super successful celebrities who tell her that it´s alright doesn´t exactly help."

"We were not trying to say that that´s okay," Namjoon said hesitantly looking to the others for help. "Just that people shouldn´t just go through their lives while being dead inside."

"I´m sure the situation is not quite the same in Korea. Here people do not value hard work the way you do and when you take away even the little they put in... I hate to sound like I want to fight about this. Could we just maybe change the wording a little bit, Namjoon ssi? Something like ´find meaning in whatever you do´?"

Everyone was eager to make the mood lift up again and so they agreed and proceeded with the speech rehearsal. Jungkook couldn´t help feeling a little bit offended because the translator had been straight up rude. He wasn´t sure if he has just gone through another culture shock. Nobody in Korea would probably dare to speak their mind in such a straight up manner as Eva just did, basically insulting their debut song.

The show was a success. The end when Hobi overrun by emotion went a little off script, telling ARMYs how much he wanted to meet them and personally thank them for their continuous support, made the screaming and clapping audible all the way to their changing room so they got up onto the stage again and thanked their fans once more for being amazing. Taehyung would have sworn that Jimin´s eyes shimmered with tears. He himself couldn´t quite wrap his head around the fact that even here in center Europe, people would give them so much support. That was when he thought about his boyfriend not being there and sharing the moment with him, and he was glad they were being shuffled off the stage again because his own vision had gotten a bit blurry.

When they finally got back to the hotel, it was well past midnight and all Taehyung wanted was to shower and then fall asleep. He almost didn´t get to the shower part because Jungkook was taking his time occupying the bathroom, and Taehyung had nearly passed out on the couch by the time the other boy limped into the room and collapsed on his own bed. Being a good friend, Taehyung decided to help him with propping up his injured leg on a pillow as Jungkook looked drained enough from the feat of putting on his pajamas.

Once in the shower, he thought what he was going to do the next day. Originally, they had all planned to go sightseeing together, maybe drop in by the famous May Amusement Park that was right next to the arena where they had performed. Taehyung had been excited to have Ivan finally meet his friends and maybe separate from them then and get a caricature of the two of them drawn on the famous Charles Bridge where supposedly tens of street artists offered their services, drawing, singing, dancing, and selling postcards. There was a cat café which Taehyung had read about where live cats would walk among the guests and look for a cuddle. Well, that program seemed to have been cancelled for no good reason.

Taehyung decided to drop by the hotel he knew Ivan´s company would be staying at the next day, if only to say hi. The last time they had seen each other in person was almost a month ago, though it seemed longer. He could join the other boys later.

He groped around the dark bedroom, trying to simultaneously find his bed, be quiet so that he wouldn´t wake up Jungkook, and not kill himself hitting the furniture. He had been partially successful when he got onto the bed in one piece, but he could hear Jungkook rolling over on his bed swearing quietly.

"This stupid position is so uncomfortable, I want to lie on my side…" he muttered.

"Remember what the doctor said, you have to keep it elevated," Taehyung reminded him. He had always deemed Jungkook to be a bit of a queen when it came to physical health, always complaining about his figure, making sure to get his beauty sleep, treating every little scratch like it was life-threatening.

"Elevated my ass, my back hurts like this." Taehyung could almost see the frown on his face and he grinned as he got up from the bed and walked over to the other bed, sliding his hands under the covers and under Jungkook´s body.

"I will give you a massage to make it feel better," he said as he dug his fingers into his friend´s torso which had Jungkook squeal and try to squirm away.

"Stop, Tae! That tickles! Ouch, my foot! You wanna kill me?" he laughed and Taehyung felt encouraged to continue his therapeutic procedure by tossing the blanket aside and crawling onto the bed to get a better access to his victim. Jungkook was very much in a disadvantage because he still tried to keep his foot still on the pillow which wasn´t giving him with much space to maneuver with his body. Especially, when Taehyung decided to full on lie on him to make him immobile and continued to probe his torso with his fingers. "How is that a massage, you´re poking me in the stomach!" he hiccupped, tears of laughter rolling down the sides of his face.

"If your stomach hurts, you can´t complain about your back, patient!" the older boy reasoned with a pretended seriousness of a doctor. "Now keep still, I need to elevate your leg," he commanded and clumsily turned around sitting on the younger boy's chest as he grabbed his leg and hoisted it up into the air. "There, the healing process will be much quicker like this," he exclaimed and hugged the leg with both arms.

"Uh - idiot!" Jungkook huffed underneath him, now trying to push him off with his arms. "It´s the other leg!"

"Be quiet, patient, I am the doctor here," Taehyung commanded and kept still.

"I - can´t – breathe! Get off!"

Jungkook was now weakly beating his palms against Taehyung´s back so he complied and lifted his butt up a little. He immediately regretted the decision as he was unceremoniously thrown off the bed with one wild buck up of Jungkook´s torso. He thudded onto the floor and made an "Oomph!" sound as he got the wind knocked out of him. An enormous amount of pressure in his chest had him thinking that he was never going to breathe again. He desperately tried to get some air back into his lungs but his diaphragm felt paralyzed so all he got were some grunts and groans which later in retrospect must have sounded ridiculous. With his eyes bulging out of his head he saw Jungkook look over the edge of the bed in concern.

"Oh no, Tae, I´m sorry! Are you alright?" His injured leg forgotten, the younger boy slid off the bed onto the floor and helped Taehyung sit up as he managed to get in the first ragged breaths.

"You have almost killed your doctor," he wheezed but when he turned his shiny eyes up to Jungkook they were full of laughter. "We should go to sleep before I get stuck here with you for the whole weekend." He had meant it as a joke but the way Jungkook looked away unamused had him realize that he probably didn´t feel too well about being left behind while the other boys went to have fun. Taehyung mentally scolded himself for being so wrapped up in his own worries about the weekend, that he hadn´t even considered how miserable his friend would be. "Oh, I didn´t mean it like that Kookie, I´m sorry," he said quickly.

"No, it´s fine. If I wasn´t so jumpy, I would get to go too. You guys can show me pictures later," he smiled weakly but Taehyung could see his disappointment.

"Hey, how ´bout I talk to the scary lady and we will get you a wheelchair?" he lifted Jungkook´s chin with one hand and gave him a wink. "Since I am your doctor, I can assure you that you are allowed to sit by and watch Hobi hyung pee his pants on the roller coaster first hand. "

Jungkook did smile at that. Taehyung wasn´t too sure he would manage to get a wheelchair but he was determined to make sure Jungkook had fun on the trip even if it meant carrying him around on his back.


	3. Chapter 3 Panic Attack

Jungkook had always deemed breakfast to be the best food of the day when it was done properly. And God knew that hotel breakfasts were the most properly done breakfasts out of them all. He was the only one left at their table, his belly stuffed full but he could not bear the thought of the cup of sweet white morning coffee being wasted if he didn´t finish it. He exhaled, sinking more deeply into the padded chair, wrapping his fingers around the warm cup. Looking out of the window at the morning rays of sunshine reflecting from the windows of the building at the other side of the street made him feel like this might not be such a bad day despite all the worries that had him finding it difficult to fall asleep the night before.

His pondering was interrupted by a rumbling noise as a chair opposite him was being pulled away from the table and a still somewhat sleepy Teahyung slid into it, placing a plate of scrambled eggs, sausages, and two buttered croissants in front of him.

"You know," the newcomer remarked, "I was so looking forward to this central European breakfast and then I hear this guy standing in the line next to me calling the eggs ´hen period´. Now I´m not sure, that I feel like eating somebody´s period first thing in the morning... Are you done with that?" and he took the halfway empty bowl of musli with yogurt from Jungkook without waiting for permission.

"Yeah sure, I´m so full I think I´ll need at least 15 more minutes before I can get up. I should eat less, I´m going to gain weight for sure..." the youth mused more to himself than to anyone else.

"I don´t think that would hurt, actually. I hear that fat people are way harder to kidnap," Teahyung grinned at him and shoved a spoonful of the musli in his mouth.

"Are you saying I should be worried about being kidnapped?"

"Are you not worried about getting kidnapped? It sounds pretty scary..."

"The scary part would be if they harassed you and I would be so fat and ugly, nobody would want to do me. That would be the most embarrassing."

"I feel like you need to rethink your priorities," Teahyung laughed and took a swing from his glass of orange juice. "And by the way, I think you´d be pretty doable even with two or three more kilos. No more than that though."

"Thank you, that is very nice of you to say," Jungkook smirked. "When are you guys leaving?" he did his best not to let it show how anxious he felt about the fact that he wouldn´t get to go out with the others. The ankle didn´t hurt anymore and if it wasn´t for what the doctor had said, he wouldn´t even remember the incident. But he didn't want to spoil the trip for the others, so when Namjoon had suggested that they stay in with him or at least modify their original plans to something more sedentary, he had insisted that they go explore the golden city of Praha without him. He would be fine.

"Oh, I don´t know exactly but Jimin looked pretty stressed when he sprinted around me in the hall, so I'm guessing they're leaving pretty soon," Taehyung replied.

"Are you not going with them?"

"No, I actually had other plans for the weekend."

Jungkook gave him a puzzled look. From what he had pieced together, Taehyung´s plans for the weekend had been cancelled. The older boy didn´t look at him though, since for some reason he suddenly became very intrigued by his croissant, and Jungkook didn´t push it.

Taehyung left the dining room shortly after that. Jungkook had gone oddly quiet and for some reason that made Taehyung uncomfortable, feeling that his friend knew about the troubles he wasn´t ready to share. He passed through the lobby and nodded to the cute receptionist who returned his smile brightly, a phone pressed to her ear. As he stepped out of the elevator and was about to round the corner he almost ran into another person, who turned out to be Eva the Scary Czech Lady.

"Ah! Taehyung ssi! Oh my, I almost peed my pants there," she muttered. "I have been looking for you. Namjoon ssi, told me you would be joining them later since you had some other plans. I wanted to make sure you have everything you need to get around. Public transport ticket, a map, information on how to get wherever," she waved her hand dismissively, "exchanged money, that sort of thing."

Then, when he came to think of it, Taehyung did not have those things. He had looked up the address of the hotel the night before, but that was about it. "Actually, that would be really helpful, Eva ssi," he smiled at the woman and pulled out his phone to show her where he wanted to go. She studied it for a moment and then she pulled out an actual map from her handbag and with a sharpie she marked out the easiest way to get there for him. She also explained what route the other Bangtan boys would probably take through the city, circling the individual venues.

"They wanted a tip on where to go for a traditional Czech food so I recommended this restaurant over here and made a reservation for 1 PM," she marked it on the map. "It is actually in a hotel lobby; when you come in, tell the concierge that I gave you the tip and they will take care of you. Their food is to die for! " She proceeded with giving him a couple of tickets for the public transport, in case he was feeling brave enough to get on it and not get lost, and some Czech currency cash, cutting his protests short by saying she would work it out with the Bangtan manager along with all the other finances. "Praha can be kind of confusing, especially when you get on the subway, so in case anything happens, here is my card," she handed it to him and nimbly moved to the side as two hotel maintenance men carrying a ladder rounded the corner they were standing at and almost ran into her. _She definitely has a knack for bumping into people_ , Taehyung thought. "We haven't picked the best spot to be standing at," Eva laughed shortly. "As I was saying, if anything happens, just give me a call." She checked her watch. "I have to run now, I have some other engagements, but I will have my phone on me. Is there anything else I can do for you, Taehyung ssi?"

"Actually yes!" he blurted before she could hurry off. "It´s about Jungkook… He won´t say it, but he feels miserable because he has to stay here because of the injury. I thought maybe if we could get him a wheelchair or something to get him around, he could come with us…?" he finished in a questioning tone. Now that he had said it out loud, it sounded like a petty request.

Eva´s forehead wrinkled in thought. "Hm… why didn´t I think of that? It´s kind of late to do something about it now… The hotel should have a spare wheelchair for injured or disabled guests but I´m not sure they would let you take it off the premises. I will ask at the front desk on my way down and try to work something out. When you come back here, check in with the concierge; I will have left her with an instruction, okay? You would probably need to take a taxi to get anywhere, so she can help you with that too."

Taehyung was quite happy with that. He wasn´t that confident in his English skills and however bossy and blunt Eva appeared, she seemed to be quite able too. He watched her get onto the elevator and was about to turn back to go to his room when she called out "And wear a jacket, Taehyung ssi, it´s quite chilly outside!" He turned his head and saw her wink at him before the elevator door shut closed.

Jungkook slowly rubbed the arches of his brow bones with so much force that the back of his neck painfully strained to keep his head upwards. The blissful pressure made little stars dance behind his closed eyelids. After a while he opened his eyes and met his own gaze in the bathroom mirror fogged by the steam from the scalding shower he just indulged himself in. His almond shaped eyes narrowed as he flashed himself a sultry half smile. A fraction of a second later he broke off the eye contact with his mirrored image and grabbed a white towel from the hanger, running it through his wet hair and feeling slightly silly for his little self-performance.

When he entered the bedroom he felt aware of how empty it was. Taehyung had left about 45 minutes ago but somehow it felt like much longer.

Jungkook limped over to the bed, careful not to put much pressure on his left ankle, even though it didn't hurt at all. He plopped onto the sheets and readjusted the towel on his head so that he wouldn´t soak the pillow. His whole body was heavy and warm and the cool air of the room felt truly wonderful. Lazy to move any further he reached for his phone lying on the night stand next to his head and lit it up. No messages.

He opened Facebook and looked into the notifications. Three of his friends were celebrating their birthday. Would he like to wish them all the best? He scoffed. Writing a cliché message to a person he hadn´t spoken to since elementary school always seemed lame to him and he looked down on the people who congratulated others on their birthday just because they saw a stupid notification and didn´t have anything else to do at that moment.

Somebody posted something on the group page Jungkook was mildly interested in at one point. He started scrolling through his feed, hoping to kill some time. There were already some pictures from the showcase, although none in a very good quality. As Jungkook scrolled further and further, he started to feel the familiar chilling sensation in the pit of his stomach. He tried to ignore it and set to writing a comment under one of the photos. He checked the clock. 11:48 AM. _Too early_. The clenching of his insides intensified.

He took a deep breath and focused on the air entering and leaving his lungs, filling his nostrils, the movement of his diaphragm. The thought of spending the whole day alone trapped in the hotel room arose unbidden in his mind. _Stop it_. Jungkook shook his head as if to reset his train of thought but all he achieved was a chill running down his spine. The room´s temperature wasn´t so pleasant anymore now that the warmth from the shower had left his body. He got up and hopped over to the dresser underneath the mirror to pull out a hairdryer. _It's just a couple of hours. They will be back by the evening. Or maybe a bit later if they decide to get dinner too. No big deal._ He tried to ignore the way his hands were shaking when he switched on the hairdryer.

About two hours after he had left the hotel, Taehyung entered the lobby again. As he slowly walked up to the front desk, he was trying to ignore the way his hands were shaking. The meeting didn´t go over well. He had to clear his throat to keep his voice from wavering when he asked the pretty girl behind the front desk about the wheelchair. (He didn´t know how to say wheelchair in English so he settled for some wild gesturing and referring to Eva. The fact that he couldn´t pronounce her last name wasn´t particularly helpful either as at first the clerk seemed perplexed as to who he was talking about so in the end he just took out the business card.)

To his own surprise, he was striding through the corridor toward his and Jungkook´s room ten minutes later, pushing a sleek black wheelchair in front of him. Eva has certainly outdone herself on this one. Before he pushed the door open, he put on his brightest smile despite the queasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. He was determined to not let his own stupid bad mood bring down his friend too.

As soon as he entered the room, he knew something was wrong.


	4. Chapter 4 The Cuddling

"Kookie, stop simulating and look what I brought you-" Taehyung´s wide smile froze as he saw that something was wrong. Jungkook had hastily turned his back to the hallway and tried to quickly wipe the tears from his face as if he could pretend that nothing was going on. He instantly regretted not having locked the door. "Jungkook?" Teahyung warily approached him and touched a tentative hand to his shoulder. "What´s wrong?" Jungkook just shook his head and let out a shaky breath.

"Kookie, talk to me. What´s wrong?" his friend asked again, sitting down next to him on the bed.

"Tae-" Jungkook paused as his voice cracked with emotion. Another kind of panic began to creep up his chest. He cleared his throat and tried again with his back still turned. "Tae, leave please. This is - I don´t want you to see me like this."

Instead, Taehyung moved closer and wrapped his arms around Jungkook´s chest, resting his chin on his shoulder. "If you don´t want me to see you, I will close my eyes. Like this," he said softly and tightened his hug as if to demonstrate squeezing his eyelids shut. Jungkook´s chest heaved painfully as he tried to regain control of himself; to no avail. He didn´t dare to tell his friend to leave again for fear of his voice breaking. The growing lump in his throat was choking him. "It´s okay. It´s alright," the deep voice behind him murmured and he felt himself being rocked slightly from side to side as if to thaw away his stiff posture. The pressure on his chest increased and his shoulders began to tremble, slightly at first, but then he couldn´t stand the pressure anymore and his whole body was wrecked by a pitiful sob. He hated this. He hated feeling so weak and useless. He was supposed to be strong and composed, even when the other members were feeling down. But now he couldn´t and what he hated even more was being seen like that. "It´s alright. You´re alright," Taehyung said and the murmurs undid the knot behind his collarbones and Jungkook began to sob shakily, still being rocked from side to side. The older boy´s long fingers were wrapped around his shoulders and he was running his thumbs soothingly over the fabric of Jungkook´s t-shirt as the heartbreaking sobs and shaky breaths filled the room.

Jungkook didn´t know how long they had sat there like that. All of his rational thinking dissolved and all that he felt was the overwhelming sadness he felt. After a long while the tears stopped coming and there came the numbness. He finally reached over to the night stand for a tissue and wiped his cheeks and blew his nose. He thought Taehyung would let go now but he didn´t. Instead he leaned to the side; arms still wrapped around Jungkook and tipped them over on the mattress so that they were laying front to back next to each other. For some reason, the sudden intimate feeling of being protected and held like that made Jungkook feel a sharp stab behind his sternum and he turned around to face the older boy for the fear he would start crying again. To his surprise, Taehyung´s eyes were still closed and Jungkook would swear that the older boy was sleeping if it weren´t for the soothing fingers circling softly along his spine.

Jungkook looked at the face in front of him. His gaze traveled across the smooth cheekbones up to the forehand partially covered by the platinum bangs. Absentmindedly, Jungkook reached his hand up and swept the hair to the side with a light touch. He more felt than saw Taehyung draw a deep breath, they were so close to each other. The trembling fingers continued across the temple, along the jawline, finally resting underneath the chin. Jungkook found himself staring transfixed at Taehyung´s lips and wanting to touch them. He hovered his thumb over his friend´s mouth. He startled when the lips moved and Taehyung spoke softly, eyes still closed.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Jungkook took his hand away and hesitated.

"It´s okay if you don´t. I... I just want to know if I can help," Taehyung added.

"I´ve wanted to talk about it for some time," Jungkook whispered. "But every time I´ve tried, it just..." he trailed off, looking for the right words.

"Hmm?" Taehyung hummed in encouragement.

"It sounds petty, even to myself. Like I want to be dramatic or something. And I know it shouldn´t make me feel like this. But it does and I don´t know how to make it stop." His breath hitched on the last word and he went quiet. The massaging fingers on his back grew more firm, like they were trying to tell him it´s okay to go on. "I sometimes feel... just... sad. I have a wonderful life, I do what I love, you know, dancing and singing and I have wonderful friends, and I get up early in the morning and I work hard and I´m happy and I go to bed and everything´s fine." The words were spilling in a quick hushed voice as if he was afraid of getting cut off. "But there are times like today when I´m alone and I have a day off and suddenly I feel like I don´t have anything to do." He heard the suppressed dread in his own voice despite the obvious banality of the statement and at that moment he felt like stopping.

"Go on." Taehyung encouraged. Silence. "Please."

A chilling wave of hopelessness swept over the younger boy. How could he ever explain this in a way that would make sense to the other youth, when it didn´t even make sense to himself. "It – It feels..." he tried to find the right words, his voice growing even quieter. "At those moments it feels like everything I do is just a distraction. Like I am trying to kill time to get to the next thing. It feels like I am wasting my life. When I practice, when I hang out with you guys... At those moments all of that feels like I do it just to get away from what I´m feeling underneath, to get away from myself. Like I can´t be alone with myself, Tae." The last sentence came out hushed, desperate, and terrified. Suddenly two dark orbs were looking at him full of pain and empathy. He felt his chin quiver and he adverted his gaze to the side, suddenly aware how swollen and aching his whole face felt.

"What do you mean? Why would you feel that?" the eyes were questioning, trying to understand.

"I don´t know. That´s what scares me," he no more than whispered, gaze still downcast. "I get this feeling in my belly, like when you trip and your stomach lurches. It grows and spreads over my chest and I start feeling like I can´t breathe and all I want to do it get up and run away from it. Normally, it doesn´t go very far because I can go find Jimin to hang out with or we all play some silly game or I go practice into the dance studio. But sometimes I can´t do that. Today, I couldn´t do that. I felt trapped alone in this room with myself and I had no way of getting away." He knew his voice was wavering. "It just got worse. I started missing my family terribly, and I felt guilty for not seeing them more often, for not taking better care of them. I see how you miss your grandmother and I panic because what if something happens to my grandparents or my parents or my brother and I´m not there for them. What if I didn´t tell them that I love them often enough..." his voice trailed off and new tears stung his eyes. "And the worst part is that even if I miss them terribly, when I go home for the holidays or something we fight over such petty things and I feel like I´m not making them proud enough. That I´m just selfishly going for my dreams and I leave them behind."

Taehyung´s dark eyes studied him intently for a while after he had finished. "I think you´re too hard on yourself," he said finally, eyes closing again. "You are doing a wonderful job here; I bet your parents are very proud of you. They surely know how happy this work makes you and they understand that you can´t be with them as often if you want to put forth your best. There´s nothing wrong with being happy, Kookie." He shifted forward and hugged Jungkook tightly. "And there´s nothing wrong with being sad once in a while. You don´t need to be strong all the time. You know…" the deep low voice resonated in Jungkook´s ear as they lay in a tight embrace, "I think you just want to be able to do everything on your own all the time, deal with everything yourself. I sometimes wish you would let us a bit more. We care about you a lot, you know that right? I thought you did anyway…"

That did sound like something Jungkook ought to know. But Taehyung's words made him pause and wonder. "I… I do. Of course I know that."

"Then you can feel however you will and you don't have to beat yourself up for not knowing how to deal with it. We can deal with it together, hm?" Taehyung pulled away a little to look at him a smile stretched across his face.

Jungkook tried to let that sink in. "I mean… I guess so."

"Okay," the other boy smiled broadly and reached up to tousle Jungkook´s hair, before getting up from the bed to pour himself a glass of water.

"Hyung?"

"Hm?"

"What are you doing here? Didn't you say you had other plans?"

"They… Fell through," the older boy said slowly.

Jungkook bounced of the bed careful not to put much weight on his left foot and hopped over to Taehyung, in turn wrapping his arms around the older boy from the back and whispered in his ear with a mischievous smile. "You wanna talk about it?"

Taehyung laughed at how the roles reversed. "We are like two PMS-ing teenage girls," he chuckled. He found it fascinating how much better he felt after comforting Jungkook. It was almost like his own troubles faded away once he got to be the stronger one for a while. The thought made him a bit uncomfortable, like he had unconsciously used his friend to feel better about himself. Maybe he could fix it by opening up for once. "Yeah, let's talk about it." He walked over to the bed again and took off his shoes and socks, then pulled his legs up and hugged his arms around his knees. He waited a bit for Jungkook to join him and then said, "This guy I have been dating, his name is Ivan."

"Ivan?" Jungkook said confused at the foreign name. "I thought you were with someone from Korea."

"We met during our trip to Russia. The company he works for was one of our sponsors and he was there to help with some management stuff. They actually have a lot of partners in Korea, so he gets to travel back and forth quite often. He actually travels all over the place, depends on what project he gets assigned to." Jungkook nodded in understanding. "Anyways, he was supposed to come to the concert yesterday because he had some client meeting in Praha from Wednesday till Friday."

"The same weekend that we were here? Seems like a hell of a coincidence," Jungkook remarked with a raised eyebrow.

"I know right?" Taehyung called out, feeling gratified that he wasn´t the only one who thought that way. "A bit too much of a coincidence, so it got me thinking that there might be something more to it and I figured we just have an anniversary coming up, so maybe he could be planning something! Anyway, I waited for a phone call or something but he never reached out so I decided to go and see him today. I was afraid he was going to be in a meeting or something but the receptionist at their hotel called his room and he was in. I went upstairs and…" Taehyung´s voice faltered so he swallowed and tried again, "And he opened the door and started shouting at me that I had no business being there and that he told me he was going to be busy with work and I shouldn´t have come."

"But he wasn´t busy, was he? You said he was just lounging around at his hotel room," Jungkook offered.

Taehyung frowned. "Yeah. And then I thought that maybe he wasn´t alone in there and I pushed past him into the room to check. I immediately felt so stupid… Of course, nobody was there." He looked up to meet Jungkook´s eyes. "You should´ve seen the look on his face, Kookie. I could see how disappointed he was in me, that I didn´t trust him." He looked down and tried to blink away the stinging in his eyes. "I ruined everything."

"How? Did he even give you any explanation?" Jungkook looked incredulous. "I mean, what were you supposed to think when he was suddenly acting like that?"

"No, but I mean if I-"

"You´re not his puppy, Tae. I don´t know how things worked between the two of you but he can hardly expect you to just blindly follow him around and trust everything he says just because he says it. That´s not a relationship, that´s worship," he spat. Taehyung was taken aback by his reaction; he had expected something more… tactful. Or kind. This was an unexpected cold shower. "You know," the younger boy continued, "I was really worried about you. Ever since he called you on Wednesday, you were a distracted mess."

"You – you knew?" now it was Taehyung´s turn to be incredulous.

"I… kind of was taking a dump when he called," Jungkook averted his gaze, trying not to smile.

"Why didn´t you say anything?"

"Well, I did now and see how well you´re taking it!" he waved a hand in Taehyung´s direction.

"You´ve basically told me I am being stupid!"

"You are being stupid!"

"So what would you suggest I do, Mr. Jeon Love Expert Jungkook?" Taehyung leaned back, folding his hands over his chest.

"Dump his Russian ass and be with somebody who´s worth it!"

All Taehyung could do was stare at Jungkook in shock. The other boy had probably realized how harsh he had been, because he shifted uncomfortably on the bed and avoided eye contact.

"This is probably why I don´t try to help people when they feel down…" he murmured, looking at the untucked piece of sheet that was sticking out from the other bed.

Taehyung had to smile at that. "Hey, if you give me a second to process that, maybe I will manage to get something out of that striking piece of wisdom," he said and it seemed to relax Jungkook a little.

They ended up lying next to each other on the bed, Taehyung staring up into the ceiling his left arm wrapped around Jungkook who lay snuggled into his side, both lost in thought over what the other had said, eventually dozing off. The sleek black wheelchair stood by the bathroom door forgotten.


	5. Chapter 5 The Late Lunch

Jungkook woke up to a knock on the door. He opened his eyes a found himself lying on a bed hugging Teahyung´s back. He gently wiggled his arm from under his hyung and shuffled off the bed, making his way to the door. He almost tripped over the wheelchair, standing in the hallway. He stared at it, remembering the joking remark, Taehyung had made the night before. He didn´t actually expect him to go through with it. Was that why he had come back to the hotel instead of joining the other Bangtan boys on their city exploration tour? Jungkook looked back toward the bedroom, a wave of emotion washing over him. Another knock on the door made him jerk and he quickly reached for the door knob.

There stood an about 60-year old woman, very short, wearing the hotel staff uniform, smiling up at him. She gestured to the side and Jungkook opened the door a bit wider to see a push-cart loaded with food. _The hotel service is truly magnificent_ , he thought.

He maneuvered the wheelchair out of the way into the bathroom and then he was able to get the cart into the room. The staff lady seemed content with picking it up later, although she didn´t speak a word of English (which probably wouldn´t help Jungkook much anyway), so he was just guessing that from her gesturing and kind smiles. The noise he made in the process drew Taehyung from his slumber. He sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes sleepily. His platinum hair was a mess and Jungkook smiled because his hyung looked adorable.

"Look, what we got, Tae! I am starving!"

"Who… Why…?" Taehyung looked very confused by the sudden hotel courtesy. Jungkook didn´t question it because he was too busy loading his plate with a turkey sandwich, warm baked potatoes, vegetable salad (determined to make up for the unhealthy breakfast), and trying not to choke on the massive piece of bread he had stuffed his face with as soon as he finished the sentence. He set the plate down on the bed next to him and poured himself a big glass of watered down orange juice. Taehyung had adapted to the situation quickly enough, making his way to the tray of food before Jungkook could eat it all and possibly die of overstuffing himself in the process.

Later, when the late lunch was finished, Taehyung lay stretched out on the bed once again. "That was really thoughtful of them to bring us all that… They must have noticed we haven't left the hotel or gone down to the restaurant for lunch," he mused, staring off into the ceiling. Jungkook sipped what was left in his glass, pleased that he was somehow able to pace himself and not get another three servings on top of the first one. His diet would be a success. "Isn´t that a bit weird?" his hyung continued. "There are plenty of other guests staying here…"

Jungkook waved his hand. "The perks of being famous start to show up," he said and immediately blushed at how arrogant that sounded. He quickly continued. "Just be grateful that we have made it this far." Taehyung hummed, obviously not fully satisfied with that answer but not up for further discussion. "Speaking of being grateful…" Jungkook snug a look at the other boy. "Hyung?"

"What?" Taehyung turned his head to the side to look at him.

"The wheelchair… I just wanted – you know – thank you. That was really thoughtful of you, I didn´t really expect you to get one," he adverted his gaze, feeling awkward.

"Oh! I completely forgot about it!" the older boy propped himself up on his elbows, his eyes wide. "Yeah, we can take you out or a little ride! We should! But give me a couple of minutes here, I don´t feel like moving right now," he said and lowered himself into a lying position once again.

Jungkook agreed with that, glad that there seemed to be no more need for wording his emotions.

They eventually moved to lie on their stomachs next to each other, watching videos on a phone. During a story time of a Korean girl visiting a Czech restaurant for the first time, Jungkook started to feel uncomfortably warm. He blamed his hoodie and the fact that their bodies were forced so close together on the narrow bed. He knelt to take off the hoodie along with his T-shirt for good measure. Taehyung looked over at him.

"It´s toasty in here, isn´t it?" he remarked and put the phone down, moving off the bed to open the window. Unfortunately, it would slide only a crack to the side, which wasn´t very helpful for air circulation.

Jungkook lay back down and grabbed the phone to resume the story about how rude Czech people were. It took him a second to realize that Taehyung was still standing by the window, gazing off into the street below. His hands were stuck into the pockets of his jeans and his shoulders slumped forward.

"Tae?" he questioned.

"I feel weird," the standing boy mumbled after a while, eyes still fixed on something in the street outside.

Jungkook got of the bed and walked over. "What do you mean?"

"I dunno, my head hurts. Maybe I´m just thinking too much. I wish I could somehow turn off my brain for a while." Jungkook came closer so they were standing side by side facing the window. "This wasn´t how I imagined the weekend to be," Taehyung said sadly.

"Hey…" Jungkook turned to him and placed a hand on his back. "It´s going to be alright," he said trying to sound reassuring. The fact that he himself never went through a breakup made it all the more difficult to find something comforting to say. He was a little taken aback when Taehyung turned his body toward him and closed the distance between them. Jungkook instinctively raised his other arm to hug his hyung, although it felt a bit awkward as the other´s hands were still lodged in his pockets.

"Can we just stay like this for a bit?" Taehyung murmured, turning his face into the crook between Jungkook´s neck and bare shoulder. Jungkook wrapped his arms around him tighter. This he knew how to do.

They stayed like that for a while. Jungkook was looking out of the window, watching an old man in a gray coat walking his dog and waiting patiently at every corner that the terrier stopped by to sniff. His friend´s body was warm and the hug was comforting. Jungkook didn´t even realize he was running his palms over his friend´s back. After a while, he found it difficult to focus his gaze and he stared absent-mindedly out of the window without really seeing anything that was happening outside anymore. It felt as if a warm heavy fog clouded his mind and all he could feel was the curve of Taehyung´s spine under his shirt and his hot breath blowing in puffs over his collarbone. It felt good. It felt really good.

His head was pounding. His fingertips tingled. He clenched his hands into fists inside his pockets but the sensation lingered. Jungkook´s body felt almost feverishly hot against his cheek and the palms trailing his back were leaving a burning path in their wake. There was a vague taste of something salty in his mouth which he couldn´t place. All the while his insides were curled up in an angry knot which made him hunch over. A sneering voice resonated in his head.

 _What are you doing, Tae?_

 _Nothing. He´s my friend._

 _Are you over me so quickly?_

 _Shut up, nothing is happening._

 _Do you want something to happen?_

 _He is my friend, nothing more._

 _Why are you panting then?_

 _It´s the heat. The heating must have broken._

 _You don´t fool m one bit. What are you waiting for?_

 _He´s my friend._

 _Yet he´s not moving away, is he._

Taehyung slowly opened his eyes and lifted his head to meet the other´s gaze. Jungkook´s eyelids were heavy but behind his lashes the dark orbs glinted. A rosy flush had spread across his cheeks and his lips were slightly parted. Taehyung´s fingertips tingled. He slowly reached up with his right hand to touch the bottom lip. It was soft and a bit wet. Taehyung unconsciously licked his own lips as he stared at the mouth before him, mesmerized. And Jungkook must have felt the same because he was still not moving away.

As if moving through water, Taehyung slowly leaned forward and he gently brushed their lips against each other. Jungkook´ s breath hitched, the hand on Taehyung´s back fisting his shirt, but otherwise, he didn't move. Taehyung put his hands on Jungkook´s shoulders and slowly backed him toward the wall next to the window, all the while keeping their bodies at the same close distance. The younger boy drew a sharp breath when his bare back touched to cold wall and a second time when Taehyung pressed himself against him from the other side. The older didn´t pay it any attention as he leaned his head to the side and kissed him again. He could tell Jungkook wasn´t very experienced and he kept the kiss gentle and slow. He moved his hands from Jungkook´s shoulders to his face, running his thumbs over the high cheekbones, but shortly after that he decided that one hand was enough and slid the other one down Jungkook´s neck and chest to run it along the smooth skin of his side.

He felt Jungkook´s own hands wrap around his neck and run through his hair, bringing him closer. Taehyung took that as a cue and took Jungkook´s lower lip between his own, sweeping his tongue over it. The way the other boy pressed his hips to his made him smile with satisfaction. _You see, Ivan, you don´t own me. Be a jerk if you feel like it, I can do just fine without you._ Jungkook´s hands left his shoulders and slid up his shirt, making his abdominals contract in pleasure. His whole body was aflame with desire and at that moment, he decided he didn´t feel like pondering all the reasons why what he was doing was wrong.

Jungkook pulled away a little and opened his mouth more. Taehyung took the cue and did the same, letting the other tease his tongue with his own. It felt exquisite. He slid his hand down and hooked his fingers through the belt loops of Jungkook´s trousers, pulling his pelvis closer. The younger boy broke the kiss and dipped his head down and to the side to nudge his jaw up, exposing his neck. He didn´t kiss it though, instead he just came millimeters close and breathed a wave of hot air across the skin, which made Taehyung shiver. He heard a soft clink and he felt the tiny chain around his neck strain as Jungkook pulled on the golden pendant with his teeth, chuckling a little as he did so.

"I´ve always hated this thing. Makes your neck so fucking irresistible," Jungkook said. "You should-ah!" he gasped when Taehyung wrapped his long fingers around his neck and pushed him backwards against the wall.

He could feel the blood pulsing underneath the skin. "You were saying?" he purred, fixing Jungkook with his eyes, face coming closer. He felt the tendons in the other boy´s neck strain as he tried to reach forward to kiss him so he leaned back just a fraction to stay out of reach and tightened his grip. "C´mon, I want to hear it."

From the looks of him, Jungkook all but forgot anything he was about to say. His cheeks were flushed, his breathing ragged, and it seemed that all he could focus on were Taehyung´s lips, so close, yet out of reach. He tried to push forward again and when the hand grasping his neck wouldn´t let him, he shut his eyes and let out an exasperated sound.

"Kiss me, please," he whispered. And Taehyung finally did.


	6. Chapter 6 Doing the Wrong Thing

Jungkook´s world was alive with sensations. The cold wall against his back contrasted with the burning heat that he felt anywhere his skin touched Taehyung´s. He had never felt anything so intense as far as he could remember. Not that he could remember all that much at that very moment. His hands seemed to move of their own accord, running through Taehyung´s hair, clutching his shirt, diving under his shirt, sometimes only a little hesitantly sliding down to grip his buttocks and pull his pelvis closer. Somehow Jungkook had always thought that in situations like these, the strain in his pants would have probably made him feel embarrassed but that wasn´t the case. He was shamelessly pressing his hips forward against Taehyung´s and he gasped a little when he felt that he wasn´t the only one who was excited.

Never breaking their kiss, Taehyung slowly maneuvered him over to the bed. Somewhere at the back of his hazy mind, Jungkook wondered if he should feel nervous, or question what they were doing. It was more than clear what was about to happen and he hadn´t been with anybody like this before. But he wasn´t scared. As he tumbled down onto the mattress and Taehyung pressed himself onto his body again, the only thing registering in Jungkook´s mind was how good the weight on top of him felt.

A hand lifted his chin up and Taehyung´s lips moved to nip at his neck. Their touch was light, just grazing the skin here and there and the sensation made Jungkook shiver despite the hot air of the room. He felt Taehyung move his weight to the side and a tug at his belt with one hand. Jungkook´s abdominals tightened with anticipation. He opened his eyes and looked down and then up again, meeting Taehyung´s dark gaze only to find out he couldn´t look away again. The eyes had him transfixed and he felt Taehyung grip his erection over the fabric of his boxers. The eyes glinted when Jungkook gasped. And then they disappeared as Taehyung moved downwards and pulled Jungkook´s pants along with his boxers down almost to his knees. Jungkook looked down just in time to see Taehyung taking him into his mouth and then his head fell back onto the pillow as his breath hitched as a result of the blissful heat that engulfed him. His hips bucked up involuntarily and he heard the small choking sound that it caused. Immediately, firm hands were holding him down as Taehyung continued the sweet torture with his mouth. Jungkook didn´t know exactly what Taehyung was doing down there but he seemed to know precisely what caused Jungkook to see stars.

"Tae-" was all that he managed to get out in between gasps but he reckoned Taehyung understood because he hummed in a way that made Jungkook´s toes curl in bliss and he picked up the tempo. For a moment Jungkook´s body froze and he all but forgot to breathe as his muscles spasmed.

Coming down from the high some moments later, he found himself lying on the bed again, gripping the sheets underneath him, his chest heaving with heavy breaths. He looked down to see Taehyung sitting over him, rubbing soft circles on his hips where he was still holding them, a smug expression on his face.

"You with me?"

Jungkook closed his eyes again and ran his hand through his dampened hair. How he managed to get beads of sweat breaking out across his forehead was a mystery to him since all he had done was lay there.

"I´m not sure… what´s happened just now?" he returned breathlessly and heard Taehyung giggle. "Could you pass me something to drink please?" he added feeling how his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth. He soon regretted that request as he was left lying on the bed alone with his pants half down his legs and he suddenly felt somewhat indignant. He just managed to sit up and start hoisting his pants back up when Taehyung returned with a glass of the watered down orange juice that they had been drinking earlier and took a swing from it, sitting on the bed next to Jungkook.

"Hey, I thought that was for me!" Jungkook protested but stopped short when he was pushed back onto the pillow and then Taehyung´s lips were on his, parting his mouth and letting the cool liquid drizzle in. Jungkook felt some of it run down his cheek into his hair but he was too busy trying not to choke on the remainder that flowed to the back of his throat. He quickly swallowed it before it went into his airways and coughed a little before he fixed Taehyung with an angry gaze.

"It was," the older grinned and then added with an unmistakable glint in his eyes, "Want some more?"

"No," Jungkook sat up resolutely, making Taehyung straighten up in surprise to avoid getting his nose smacked in, and he swung his legs off the bed to the opposite side than where Taehyung was sitting. He pulled up his boxers and his pants, though leaving them unbuttoned, as he stood up and turned around.

Taehyung´s eyes were wide as he looked back at the unsmiling face. "Kookie, I´m sorry, I was just messing around, I didn´t-"

"Get on your back."

The brown eyes widened some more at the curt command, but then Taehyung obediently set the glass onto the nightstand and lay down into the same position that Jungkook had been in just a couple of moments earlier, only he was still clothed.

Jungkook waited until the other got settled and then swiftly climbed on top of him, straddling his thighs. He leaned forward, snatched the glass from the night stand, and emptied it in a few gulps, making sure to keep his face stern the whole time. Only when the glass was empty and set onto the floor next to the bed, had he allowed a mischievous grin to spread across his lips. By that time, Taehyung looked positively terrified.

Jungkook grabbed his wrists and pinned them over his head, leaning down to whisper in his ear, "Now. I want some more of this." Somewhere in the back of his mind a tiny voice was faintly whispering something he couldn´t quite pick up. Something about slowing down and thinking. He couldn´t have cared less.

Taehyung´s heart was pounding against his ribcage, the sound of his own blood pumping loud in his ears. His hands were tangled in a makeshift knot formed by his own t-shirt that Jungkook had pulled up over his head, but not all the way. He watched in fascination as Jungkook sitting astride him - the buttons of his pants undone - trailed his fingertips down his sternum and further down the center of his bare stomach, below his navel until they reached the hem of his jeans and trailed to his sides, sliding back up. The feather light touch made Taehyung tremble helplessly. He was very much aware of the pressing bulge below his belt, but Jungkook seemed to be doing a great job at ignoring it altogether. His gaze followed his trailing hands as if he was hypnotized by the body underneath him, not even registering what it was doing to Taehyung.

Taehyung closed his eyes. One of the hands trailed from the top of his forehead, down the bridge of his nose, dipping to the cupid´s bow and then two fingers softly brushed his parted lips. And then again, this time from side to side. He opened his mouth a little more and tried to catch them, but they quickly moved away. He felt the other lean over him, felt hot breath on his own face - so close they almost touched, but not quite. The fingers moved to Taehyung´s collarbones, where they toyed with the golden pendant, intermittently brushing his skin as they did so. Taehyung remembered the day when they had gotten it. He recalled the heady scent of the teashop where they lounged together after a long day, the little dim display of shiny trinkets just a couple of meters away from their spot. He obviously hadn´t been very subtle at eyeing the pendant on a delicate golden chain, since when they were leaving, it dangled around his throat.

The fingers touched his lips again and he realized that he was straining to reach upward, to capture the lips he knew were hovering there with his own.

"So eager," a hushed voice above him spoke. But it was the wrong voice. He opened his eyes and two dark brown irises of his friend were looking down at him, instead the blue-green ones of his boyfriend. It was all wrong.

"Wait," Taehyung blurted, "Stop." He turned his face to the side and drew his arms down to his chest, hurriedly freeing them from the knot of fabric.

"What?" Jungkook straightened up in confusion. "Tae, what´s wrong?" he shifted his weight to the side as Taehyung wiggled from under him, getting up from the bed and marching a few paces as if to put some distance between them.

"This," Taehyung turned around and gestured back and forth between them, "This is wrong." He felt like he might choke on the words. What the hell was wrong with him? A couple of bumps along the way and there he was, immediately latching onto the nearest person to ease the pain? What worse, his _friend_? He ran one hand through his hair in frustration. Jungkook was kneeling on the bed, pants still unbuttoned, bare chested, with a questioning expression on his face. Taehyung sighed.

"I´m sorry. I don´t know what´s gotten into me to do that," he gestured toward the bed to indicate the situation again. "I´m confused because… I really do care about him!" he stressed more to himself than to Jungkook. ( _Yet you won´t say my name_.) Jungkook didn´t move, nor say anything, he just kept looking at Taehyung, waiting.

Taehyung was about to say something more when the buzzing sound of a phone startled them both. He walked over to the chair where his jacket was hanging over the armrest and fished out his phone from the pocket. The name on the screen didn´t even surprise him.

He looked at Jungkook and then headed for the bathroom, deciding this he should probably handle in private.

"Hello?"

" _Hey_ ," Ivan's voice sounded a bit unsure on the other end of the line. After a moment of silence, " _What are you up to?"_

 _I just sucked of one of my best friends because I was upset with you._ "Not much. Hanging out with Jungkook at the hotel."

" _I thought you guys were going sightseeing."_

"He twisted his ankle yesterday."

" _Oh."_

"Ivan?"

" _Yeah?"_

"What happened this morning?"

A deep sigh sounded from the other end. " _Taehyung… We need to talk. I haven´t been feeling it lately. I didn´t want to go to your show because I didn´t want to pretend everything was fine when it wasn´t, or to stress you out before the concert. I wanted to get together during the weekend and talk to you face to face, but you came to see me in the morning and, well… I wasn´t ready yet. You caught me off guard and I just panicked. I´m sorry."_

Taehyung worked his jaw soundlessly for a moment. He felt like he had been punched in the stomach. "But – I don´t get it – we were doing fine!"

" _Were we? I don´t know, I haven´t seen you in a month."_

"I know, but I was busy, we had a lot of –"

" _I understand that, Taehyung. I know you´re busy. It wasn´t a one-off thing."_

"But I try to make time whenever I can, I really do!"

" _It´s not enough."_

"What do you expect me to do then?!" Taehyung raised his voice angrily. He didn´t deserve this.

" _I don´t expect you to do anything! What, you think I would ask you to put your career on hold for me? I´m not an idiot. We should just end it."_

Taehyung suddenly felt panic rising in his chest – this was happening all too quickly. "But, if we could just talk about it, I´m sure there is something we´d come up with. You want to give up without even trying?"

" _Trying? What the hell do you think I was doing the whole time?! When I was spending my evenings alone, waiting for you to finally finish your practice and give me a five minute phone call before you went to bed. I´m not your fan girl, I need more than seeing you in vlogs! Or do you mean that you weren´t trying? That you would be able to change something now that I gave you an ultimatum?"_

Taehyung didn´t answer. Tears stung in his eyes and he leaned his back against the door for support.

" _It may be working for you, but it´s not working for me, Taehyung. I´m sorry."_ And with that the line went dead.

Jungkook was still sitting on the bed, holding a refilled glass of orange juice and tapping his fingers on it, when Taehyung slowly walked out of the bathroom again some minutes later. When he saw Taehyung´s red rimmed eyes, he immediately set the glass down and strode over, hugging him before Taehyung could say anything.

"Did he say why?" he asked quietly after a moment.

"Yeah, that we didn´t see each other often enough and he needed more."

"I´m sorry, Tae."

"Yeah, me too."

Only then did Taehyung register that that Jungkook had switched on the radio and a slow song was playing from the speakers. And that neither of them was wearing a shirt.

… _Nothing's gonna hurt you baby_

 _As long as you're with me you'll be just fine …_

Slowly, he started rocking to the rhythm and Jungkook joined in.

… _Nothing's gonna hurt you baby_

 _Nothing's gonna take you from my side …_

Jungkook´s hands encircled Taehyung´s waist as they slow danced on the spot and the kiss that followed was a big fuck you to all hurtful words, stupid ex-boyfriends, and all messed-up side effects of the idol lifestyle that they both adored so much.


	7. Chapter 7 Affection

_... When we have a drink or three_

 _Always ends in a hazy shower scene..._

The swaying melody of the song filled Taehyung's ears as he let himself get lost in the slow sensual kiss. Strangely enough, at that very moment he felt more relaxed than he had in days. He pulled Jungkook closer to him and marveled at the warmth of his body which was as reassuring to him as the unhurried yet demanding touch of his lips. He could taste a hint of sweetness of the orange juice on his tongue. Just at that moment everything was perfect.

He sighed with pleasure when Jungkook´s hand touched the front of his pants and began to stroke him through the fabric of his jeans. The sensation had Taehyung breaking the kiss and leaning his head forward to rest on Jungkook´s bare shoulder but then the hint of hesitation in Jungkook´s touch made him pause.

"Kookie, are you sure? Maybe we should take a moment and…" at the words Jungkook stopped and pulled away. Standing on his own, Taehyung immediately regretted having opened his mouth. "…talk about this," he finished looking up at the other boy. The dark eyes were unreadable.

"Yeah," he said. "We should." Taehyung bowed his head and started to turn away to go find his t-shirt when a hand caught his arm and he was pulled back into a warm embrace. "But I don´t want to," Jungkook whispered into his ear and the mischievous tone sent an electric shock into Taehyung´s groin. The hot wet mouth was on his again and it felt so good that Taehyung let his worries go for good and just enjoyed.

The comfortable warmth that had engulfed him like a warm blanket started slowly changing into rising fire that had his insides clenching every time Jungkook´s hands brushed his skin or tightened in his hair. He instinctively pressed himself closer to him and his heartbeat quickened when Jungkook deepened the kiss in response as if to let him know, it was okay. What had before been languid and unhurried caresses of their lips, intensified to a hungry power play which left them both breathless.

Taehyung leaned his weight forward and pushed them both in the direction of one of the beds until the backs of Jungkook´s legs hit the edge and he toppled over, Taehyung swiftly climbing on top of him and joining their mouths again. His hand had travelled down to the hem of Jungkook´s unbuttoned jeans when he was hoisted up and promptly flipped over so that he was on the bottom. He managed only a surprised ´ooh´ sound.

"I´d say, you´ve already had your go, now it´s my turn," Jungkook smirked at him from above.

Taehyung´s mouth went dry. The promising words paired with an intent gaze of the dark eyes were themselves a turn-on, not to mention how the muscles on Jungkook´s arms and shoulders flexed as he supported himself above him. Taehyung reached up and pulled him down for another crushing kiss, eagerly running his palms across the toned back and also lower, palming Jungkook´s ass with delight. He gasped into his mouth when Jungkook grinded his hips down and he could feel that he was rock hard as well. Taehyung bucked up, seeking the blissful pressure again, once more forgetting the kiss he was no longer able to engage in anyway. Instead, he gasped and quietly moaned into Jungkook´s ear, vaguely aware that his hands had clenched into fists.

"You feel incredible," he registered Jungkook mumbling and a fresh wave of pleasure ran down through his belly to his crotch. He moaned as a way of agreement and then half-whined in protest when the weight on top of him suddenly disappeared. "Shh," Jungkook leaned down again and pressed a soothing kiss to his lips. "I just need to get these off you before I go crazy," he said and tugged at the buttons of Taehyung´s pants as an explanation. Taehyung didn´t need much encouragement and soon the garment was crumpled on the floor next to the bed along with his underwear.

Jungkook leaned over him again, this time to kiss the side of his neck. Taehyung closed his eyes and craned his head backwards to make for an easier access. The brush of Jungkook´s lips against the sensitive skin of his throat made goosebumps rise all over his body and then he felt strong finders close around his erection and his whole body arched like a bow. He couldn´t help a moan escaping his mouth. It seemed to encourage Jungkook because he started moving his hand up and down, his face still buried in the crook of Taehyung´s shoulder where Taehyung could feel his hot breath blowing over his skin.

Taehyung moaned again and Jungkook could feel his cheeks flare up. He wanted to look at his face, to see the pleasure that was so clearly etched in his voice but he couldn´t bring himself to look up. He had never felt so horny in his life as at this moment, being this close to someone, having them completely surrender to him even though he was inexperienced and unsure about what he was doing. He just knew that Taehyung´s skin felt incredibly smooth under his touch and his gasps of pleasure sent heat pooling in Jungkook´s stomach and made him want more.

He felt Taehyung´s hand tangle in his hair and finally looked up. Taehyung´s eyes were still closed, head tilted slightly backwards exposing his throat and his mouth slack and gasping as Jungkook pumped him. He looked so sinfully beautiful that when he opened his eyes and looked at Jungkook through his lashes, the younger forgot about his nerves and just drank him in, holding his gaze. His own hard erection almost painfully strained against the fabric of his boxers.

"Fuck me," Taehyung murmured in a hoarse voice. It took Jungkook by surprise and he ceased the movement of his hand.

"Are you sure?" he asked. Not that he didn´t want to, it just seemed like it should be a big deal, but then again, maybe that was just his virgin notion of how the world works.

"Yeah," Taehyung nodded and kissed Jungkook´s sharp jaw. "I want you…" he trailed his mouth up to Jungkook´s ear, "…to fuck me," he breathed, hot air hitting Jungkook´s earlobe and making the hairs on the back of his neck prick up.

Jungkook let out a shaky breath and squeezed his eyes shut as the heat in his stomach intensified. He leaned down and claimed Taehyung´s mouth once again, running the palm of his hand along his inner thigh. Taehyung broke the kiss and gently drew away, getting up from the bed. Jungkook watched him with curiosity as he padded to his suitcase which lay opened on the sofa and rummaged through it coming up holding a little plastic bottle and a condom packet. He returned to the bed, gesturing for Jungkook to lie on his back and when the younger complied, he climbed on top of him, straddling his hips. Jungkook´s hands were immediately on him, marveling at his naked torso and thighs. Taehyung leaned forward and placed a light kiss on Jungkook´s lips.

"I´ve never…" Jungkook murmured, face blushing in embarrassment when he found himself unable to finish the sentence.

Taehyung smiled against his mouth. "I figured. Do you want to stop here?" he asked and Jungkook knew he meant it.

"God no," he breathed out and took Taehyung´s face in his hands, bringing him in for another kiss. He wasn´t sure that he could stop if he wanted to. He ran his thumbs across the smooth cheekbones and Taehyung turned his head to the side and caught one of them in his mouth. He sucked on the digit and rolled his tongue around it, and his mouth was so wet and hot that the heat in Jungkook´s belly became almost unbearable.

Taehyung straightened up and smiled at him. Only then did Jungkook notice how dark the room has gotten with the sun setting outside. The radio was still on, playing another soothing song.

… _It´s affection, always_

 _Oh, you´re gonna see it someday…_

As if he read his mind, Taehyung leaned to the side and switched on the bedside lamp before he picked up the condom packet. He lifted a bit to let Jungkook shimmy out of his jeans and slid farther back while he tore the packet open and rolled the condom onto Jungkook. Jungkook watched, his nerves on edge, and he didn´t even realize he had been holding his breath until his lungs started to burn. Taehyung picked up the bottle of lube and first slicked up Jungkook before reaching around to prep himself. It was so hot that Jungkook couldn´t help but run his hands all over his thighs, flexed from the way Taehyung was lifting himself up, and slide one up to his leaking erection again for which he was rewarded by a deep groan.

Taehyung moved up again and he positioned them so that when he slowly lowered himself down, the tip of Jungkook´s cock pressed against his entrance. Jungkook had to muster all of his will power not to buck his hips up; instead he focused on the slow strokes of his hand between Taehyung´s legs. His friend pressed down a bit so that just the tip of Jungkook´s cock slid inside his body and he lifted up again. He looked very concentrated, his brow furrowed and biting his lip as he moved up and down again and again, each time taking in more of Jungkook´s length, until he sat completely down, tilting his head back as he moaned softly. He felt deliciously tight around Jungkook, his muscles squeezing unwillingly every now and then, making Jungkook see stars. If this was what sex felt like, Jungkook was surprised that people even had jobs.

Taehyung arched his back, supporting himself on one arm resting on Jungkook's thigh and he reached the other to the front and took hold of Jungkook´s hand which was till resting on his thigh, squeezing tightly. He lifted his head again and locked their eyes as he started moving again, riding Jungkook, little gasps and moans escaping his mouth. It was a slow and sweet torture and Jungkook simultaneously wanted it to last forever, and to thrust up into Taehyung and fuck him senseless. He could no longer focus on moving his hand so he flexed his abdomen and sat up, propping himself up on it and reached the other hand around to pull Taehyung´s head closer to his own. Tiny beads of sweat were dotting his forehead and he never ceased his movements even as he kissed Jungkook´s mouth, invading it with his tongue.

Jungkook couldn´t hold back any longer and he thrusted up, taking Taehyung by surprise. He broke the kiss and threw his head back, crying out with pleasure. It was so satisfying to watch that Jungkook immediately did it again, earning another cry and feeling Taehyung´s long fingers dig into his hand, which he was still holding.

Jungkook kissed his exposed throat and tugged on the gold chain with his teeth again before he gently rolled them over so that Taehyung was on his back beneath him. He positioned himself so that the tip of his erection was against the older boy´s entrance but pushed in only ever so slightly, before pulling back again. He did the same thing a couple of times, relishing in how frustrated Taehyung looked.

"For god´s sake, just do it already," he hissed and tried to push his hips up, trying to fuck himself on Jungkook´s cock.

He smirked mischievously. "Do what?" he asked, feigning innocence.

"You know what," Taehyung whimpered and bucked his hips again to no avail.

"I want to hear you say it," Jungkook said and leaned down to Taehyung´s ear. "Talk to me, Tae," he whispered, pushing himself a little forward again. Taehyung keened and it sounded almost painful.

"Fuck me, _please_ ," he whined, stressing the last word. "I want you to fuck into me, hard. _Please_."

A low growl escaped Jungkook´s throat and he snapped his hips forward, slamming into his friend´s body with such force that he actually shifted up on the bed. Taehyung cried out, digging his fingers into Jungkook´s back.

"Oh god, Kookie, do that again, please," he groaned desperately, crying out again when Jungkook did. The sinful sound had Jungkook lose all the appetite for slow fucking and he picked up the pace, slamming into Taehyung again and again, and feeling like he was going to go crazy with the way he clenched around his length, not far from screaming at each thrust.

Jungkook knew he couldn´t last long like this, even having come once before, so he took Taehyung´s hand which was fisting the sheets underneath them and guided it between them, lifting up to allow Taehyung for a better access.

"Come on, Tae, I want you to come for me," he gasped. Their eyes met and Jungkook felt like he could drown in them. Seeing Taehyung like this, open and sweaty, spread underneath him, stroking himself, drove him over the edge and after a few more thrusts he groaned loudly as his hips faltered and he spilled himself into the condom, Taehyung following almost immediately, coming onto his own stomach.

After a while, Jungkook caught his breath and peeling himself away from Taehyung´s sweat slick body and pulling off the condom, throwing it down on the floor, he collapsed on the bed. Taehyung had just enough strength to straighten out his shaking legs and turn his head to face the side where Jungkook was lying on his back next to him. His eyes were shut, a sheen of sweat glazing his olive skin as his chest rose and fell slowly.

Taehyung reached out to clear a strand of hear stuck by the sweat to Jungkook´s forehead. "I don´t believe that you´ve never done this before," he uttered breathlessly. Jungkook cracked one eye open and his lips twitched up into something that might have been a hint of a smirk. Taehyung wasn´t sure. All that he registered through the lull of sleep was how Jungkook turned to his side and draped an arm and one leg over him.

"Oh, would you just come here and take a look at this!"

Josef looked up from his sandwich and beer and tried to suppress the look of annoyance on his face. Her face was alight with excitement as if she were one of the twelve-year-olds in the room next door. He got up and walked over to her, looking over her shoulder at the screen of her laptop.

"Ugh!" he grunted once he realized what he was looking at and quickly drew back from the screen. "They´re going at it like rabbits!"

"Exactly!" she exclaimed although Josef for the life of him couldn´t fathom why she sounded so enthusiastic about it.

"Fucking faggots," he murmured and went back to the sofa to finish his sandwich. He could feel her eyes pierce through him and he made sure to look very focused on taking a bite of the sandwich that was completely free from his own long hair.

"You of all people say that! Don´t tell me that you never fucked anybody in the butt while you were in prison." He managed enough self-control to only shoot her a triggered look. "Well, anyway," she turned back to the laptop, "I can see you´re not particularly interested in this manifestation of my genius. Perhaps it´s time to show somebody else. I feel like our boys have been losing motivation. We should help them with that."

"Which one do you want me to bring?" asked Josef, swallowing down the last bit of the sandwich and washing it down with a chug of beer.

She smirked and leaned back in the chair as she looked at him. "Let me think. It goes well with tonic." Her smile disappeared when he only gave her a blank look. "Jin, you idiot. The tall one, brown hair, black turtleneck – his name is Jin. Oh, for god´s sake, what am I paying you for again?" she asked rhetorically.

"Because I do your dirty work for you," he said gruffly, standing up and wiping his hands onto his trousers.

"Yes, that´s right," she looked at him skeptically, unimpressed. He wasn´t about to argue with her. The money was good but it wasn´t that good. Instead, he took a last swing from the beer can, crushed it and threw it into the trash bin by the door before showing himself out to go fetch the tall turtlenecked Gin, who was undoubtedly a big faggot too. They all had to be. They wore makeup for god´ s sake. Somehow that make Josef sympathize with them even less.


	8. Chapter 8 The Clumsy Waiter

"Was everything alright?" the waiter asked as he took the plate away from Jimin. He was young, perhaps a couple of years older than them and obviously not very experienced at waiting tables - judging from how clumsy he had been with the soup, although his attitude made up for it. Jimin returned his bright smile.

"Yes, thank you," he replied and cautiously watched as the fork slid dangerously near the edge of the plate. "I´m glad we went to the fair before lunch – I probably couldn´t handle the rollercoaster after this," he giggled and patted his belly.

"Quite heavy, isn´t it," the waiter remarked knowingly, the smile forming dimples in his cheeks. "They say that the American diet is unhealthy, but I think that´s just because they haven´t tried Czech svíčková."

Jimin couldn´t but agree. He had no idea how the Czechs managed to survive their diet, given how he felt after one meal – and that was without the traditional Czech beer as a beverage. It sure had been tasty though.

The waiter moved around the table to collect the others´ plates as well. Jimin hoped that he would manage to get them onto his cart without killing anybody. "Do you know the American documentary Supersize me? Where the guy eats at McDonald´s for a month and he almost dies? They tried to do a Czech version of that – this 60-year-old Czech guy eating only at Czech restaurants for a month. He lost six kilos and his overall health condition improved significantly. The doctors said that it was because he ate only three times a day - it was hilarious!" the waiter exclaimed and knocked over Hoseok´s water. "Oh, I´m so very sorry!"

"It´s fine," Hoseok patted the soaked tablecloth with his napkin, looking amused. "May I ask where you learned Korean? Your accent is impeccable."

"Better than my waiting skills, anyway," the waiter muttered as he tried to repair the damage. "I went to Korea as an exchange student when I was in college."

"Oh, I see," nodded Hoseok. "What was your major?"

Jimin excused himself and got up from the table. The restrooms were in the hallway leading from the little private dining room they had had the lunch in. He was just washing his hands when he heard the shout. Since the restroom shared a wall directly with the dining room, there was no doubt that it had come from there. As he was drying his hands on a towel, he wondered if the waiter had finally accidently stabbed somebody with a knife. He couldn't believe that someone could be even clumsier than Namjoon hyung.

He exited the restrooms and walked the couple of meters to the dining room door, bracing himself for the commotion inside, calling the ambulance... His half-amused train of thought was interrupted by another series of shouts. One of them he recognized as Yoongi hyung's. "What are you doing? No!"

Jimin opened the door and the first thing he saw was the back of somebody standing behind it a little to the side - a man in a dark suit. Jin and Hoseok were sitting in their spots at the table looking alarmed but Yoongi was on his feet, struggling with another man in a suit, a tall guy who by the looks of it was trying to take of Yoongi's jacket. Namjoon was standing too, frantically speaking to the man in English, though it was too fast for Jimin to understand and the guy didn't seem to pay any attention anyway. There was another suited man standing by the other door leading to the dining room which the clumsy waiter had used to bring in food. His face was set and he was holding... a gun! Jimin stood frozen on the spot terrified when Namjoon noticed him.

"Jimin!" he shouted. "Get out of here! Go!" His voice sounded so urgent that Jimin's first instinct was to comply and he was already sprinting back down the hallway by the time the man nearest to the door turned to look what was going on.

"Stop!" Jimin heard him shout in English but he didn't slow down. All he could think about was the gun he had seen in the man's hand and the shouting that carried on through the hall behind him rang in his ears, making him even more terrified. _What the hell was going on?_ His heart was pounding in his ears as he ran to the exit where people were peacefully walking down the street, but before he could reach it, another man with a dark ponytail stepped out of the hallway to the side and stood in his way. Jimin pulled up short, almost running into him. He dove to the side when the man made to grab him but he was too slow and felt the man take hold of the fabric of his hoodie. The pull made him lose his balance and he stumbled. He was being hoisted up by his clothes the next moment and just as he managed to get his feet back under him, an iron fist suddenly slammed into his belly. The impact made him cry out in pain and he doubled over, seeing stars for a moment and feeling like he was going to be sick. Tears stung in his eyes and before he could even breathe in again, the man roughly pushed him back in the direction of the dining room, growling something in a foreign language. Jimin stumbled, still hunched, which was obviously too slow for the man's liking because he grabbed him by the shirt again and started dragging him through the corridor. Jimin struggled feebly but it was no use with the nauseating pain in his abdomen and the unyielding grip on his clothes.

"No, no!" he protested feebly over and over but the man ignored him and soon they reached the door where the other man grabbed Jimin from the other side and he was unceremoniously shoved back into the room. A rough hand rummaged through his pockets and fished out his phone before he could even straighten up.

Jin and Hoseok, still sitting by the table and looking frightened, had their hands folded behind their heads, and Jimin could see Namjoon backed up further away by the wall, his hands also in the air in a yielding gesture. His face was drained of any color and when he looked at Jimin, his eyes were scared. Jimin looked to the other side to see that one of the men was pointing his gun at the older boy. The tall man who had been holding Yoongi before was standing next to him, looking through Yoongi's red jacket, finally taking a phone out of one of the pockets and shoving it in his own pocket which by the look of it was already bulging with the other devices. Yoongi was standing farther away just in his t-shirt and he had his hands behind his head too.

A deep voice growled something from behind Jimin and something hard pressed against his upper back. Jimin didn't have to look what it was to immediately raise his hands into the air. He felt like his heart might tear out of his chest and it took him a couple of shaky breaths to notice that their waiter was standing in the corner of the room.

"What's going on?" Jimin blurted. His voice was squeaky.

"Just stay calm, Jimin ssi, please," the waiter replied but there was no trace of the bright smile. He looked around the room as if to see that everybody was still and then he stepped forward and spoke in a cold commanding voice. "On your feet and follow me. And don't do anything stupid, please," he added in a patronizing tone and turned around, exiting from the door he had used before. The man with the gun flicked his wrist a little and that was all the prompting the boys needed to do what they were told. Namjoon shot Jimin a worried look before he followed after the waiter, hands still up.

They walked out of the dining room and through the corridor until they reached a stairwell on their left. The waiter stopped by a door next to it and peeked inside before he held it open for them to enter.

The room was rectangular and there was a large sofa by the wall on the left. A makeup station was set up on the right, with a big mirror and a table covered with face and hair products, and next to it stood a clothing rack full of clothes on hangers.

Namjoon, who entered first, took it in and hesitantly stepped toward the sofa when something shiny caught his eye. On the left armrest of the sofa, there was a mobile phone, attached to a charger which disappeared between the edge of the sofa and the wall. Shielded from the eyes of their captors by his friends who were coming in behind him, he snatched the phone and stuffed it into his pants.

"Sit down, please," he heard the waiter say and he obediently sat down on the sofa, followed by the others. It was a moment of Deja vu, reminding him of their fake kidnapping experience from the American Hustle Life, that of course turned out to be just a set up for the reality show. Any hope of a similar outcome he might have had was wiped out when he saw how Jimin's face screwed up in pain as he lowered himself onto the sofa, holding a hand to side of his stomach. And also, that time nobody had been pointing guns at them. It seemed like so long ago.

There were voices coming from outside - the waiter was apparently giving instructions to the bodyguards. Through the open door Namjoon could hear him say, "She probably went upstairs, I'll go get her. Stay here and keep an eye on them." The door closed and Namjoon somewhere in the back of his mind wondered why the waiter would speak English to fellow Czech people.

They sat still for a moment, listening intently. Then Namjoon reached into his pants and retrieved the phone he had hidden in his underwear. It might have been funny if not for the terrifying thing that had just happened. Jimin still clutched a hand to his aching stomach and his normally rosy and healthy looking skin was pale and ghostly.

"You have a phone?!" exclaimed Hoseok in a hushed voice. "Quick, call the manager before they come back!"

Namjoon was about to do just that when he paused frowning at the screen. "It´s locked. I can´t dial anything."

"There should be an option to dial in case of an emergency," urged Hoseok, looking over the older boy´s shoulder. "Here, try pressing this," he pointed to a little scribbling in the bottom left corner of the screen reading ´Krizova situace´. Namjoon quickly complied and a dial pad popped up. Jin hiccupped in excitement, scooting closer on the couch, gaze trained on the little device.

"But… what number? We can´t dial the Korean police. What are the emergency numbers here?" Namjoon looked up at the others and his heart sank. Of course nobody knew. They had gotten little emergency cards with contacts when they arrived, but those were forgotten in their wallets or tossed in their suitcases.

"But that is most unfortunate," a voice said from the door and everyone jumped at the unexpected sound. They never heard the door open. A woman stood in the doorway, looking at them with a somewhat amused expression. She was wearing a navy blue blazer with a crisp white shirt, a pencil skirt and black pumps. The precisely applied red lipstick gave her a certain air of fierceness. Her appearance was so different from the day before, but there was no doubt – in the doorway stood their Czech-Korean translator, Ms. Eva Brouzdalovicka. "I would like my phone back, Namjoon ssi."

She walked into the room, heels clicking on the floor. Behind her, two of the men from earlier entered and a third one stayed poised at the door to guard the entrance. Eva outstretched her hand and waited a moment before Namjoon slowly put the phone into it. "Thank you. I want to apologize on the behalf of my colleague here," she nodded to the ponytail guy that had hit Jimin. "It was a stressing situation but he should have known better. But then again, so should you, Jimin ssi." Jimin looked away under her intent gaze, feeling an odd mixture of anger, shame, and fear.

"You are smart boys so I am sure I don´t have to beat around the bush and just tell you how matters stand," Eva said in a matter of fact voice, a slight smile playing on her lips. The attire made her look a business woman, standing tall and powerful. "Hoseok ssi expressed his wish to meet ARMY yesterday and I presume you have that desire in common. I intend to grant you that wish; perhaps not exactly in the way you´ve had in mind but our goal is the same – for you to meet your fans and make their day a little brighter." The translator beamed at them and the room echoed the clicking of her heels as she graciously walked over to the table. She leaned back on its edge, facing the boys. "I have organized a little fan signing event for you as a thank you for your hard work. It will take place in the lounge room in about two hours," she said, checking her watch.

"What?" Yoongi scrunched his nose in confusion. "A fan signing?"

"Why does that surprise you, Yoongi ssi?" the translator cocked her head to the side.

"I mean, you went through all of this…" he glanced over at Jimin, "for a fan signing?"

"Yes," Eva answered simply with a smile. When she got only more confused looks from the boys, she sighed and elaborated. "You don´t seem to realize how much impact you have on your fans. In you oh-so-humble universe, you probably don´t realize how much your fans are willing to give to have the chance to meet you."

"So this is about money?" Yoongi retorted.

"Partially," she nodded. "But we don´t have time for that now, I want the event to start on time and there is one more thing I would like you to do. A personal favor, you could say." The boys exchanged looks. At this point, it seemed very farfetched to talk about favors, as if they had a choice. The translator continued. "You see, I have a sister. She is fourteen and she has been following your work for quite some time now. I would like you to meet her. Teach her a dance or something. Be nice. You think you can do that for me?"


	9. Chapter 9 Cooking the Broth

It was probably the weirdest hour of Hoseok's life.

After they had been ushered into the small mirrored gym area of the hotel, cleared of the workout equipment, they were introduced to a small chubby blond girl who looked like she might just pee her pants with glee. Although her English was pretty solid, she seemed to quickly understand their general lack of communication skills, and expressed herself almost exclusively in squeals and excited gesturing. She gave all of them a fierce hug and then waved her hands wildly around and beamed uncontrollably to let them know, in case they didn't notice, that she was very excited to meet them.

"I will just leave you to it," Eva smiled affectionately. "You will get your hair and make-up done afterwards, my colleagues will help you get around," she added to the Bangtan members and left the room, leaving two suited men behind.

"Erm…" Namjoon started unsurely, glancing over at the gorillas by the exit. "So what do you want to do?"

"Everything!" the girl cheered, jumping excitedly up and down. Hoseok thought she looked younger than the 14 years Eva had mentioned.

"Uh, everything?" Namjoon seemed to be taken aback; they were used to excited fans but this was like excited on ecstasy.

"Yes! I want to play a game! I want to learn how to dance Fire! Sing with you guys! I wanna touch Jimin's abs! –"

"Alright, alright," Namjoon hurriedly interrupted her, a mildly frightened look on his face. "Um, we could play a –"

"I dance the choreography and you guess the song!" the girl screeched. "And if you get it wrong, I say who has to kiss whom!"

The boys exchanged worried looks. As they suspected, the girl's dancing skills were not that great and even though they did their best to guess which pseudo-version of their dances the girl was trying to do, sometimes they were just hopeless. After about 30 seconds of the girl waving her hands around in a dance that had nothing to do with K-pop and was probably closer to the rain dances of the aboriginal African tribes, the girl demanded that they got it wrong and that Yoongi and Jimin had to kiss. They were no strangers to such fan service so Jimin quickly pecked a kiss on Yoongi's cheek.

"What was that?" the girl frowned. "That doesn't count, I want a real kiss!"

Namjoon shifted uncomfortably on the floor. "Um… what do you mean?"

"I mean a real kiss, mouth to mouth!" the girl ordered.

The boys exchanged looks.

"Does she want us to like kiss for real?" Jimin asked in Korean, probably doubtful that he understood correctly. Namjoon nodded and then he turned to the girl.

"You know," he said carefully. "Maybe you would like to play a different game. Or practice the dances with us?" he added sounding hopeful.

"Yes!" the girl grinned to everyone's obvious relief. The situation was getting weird. "But first I want the kiss," she folded her arms across her chest and looked hard at Jimin and Yoongi.

"Look, I don't think they are really into that, let's –" Namjoon didn't finish because from the corner of his eye he caught a movement as the two bodyguards etched closer when they sensed the disagreement. "Just do it and we'll do something else," he quickly said to the two boys, motioning subtly to the suited men.

Jimin and Yoongi looked at each other hesitantly. If this was shot for some kind of video, they would probably be doing the whole laughing and flinching thing, but everyone felt too uncomfortable for that. With one more awkward glance at the other members they exchanged a light peck on the lips. The squeal that followed made everyone jump. Hoseok would have sworn that he saw tears shimmer in the girl's ecstatic face.

"I always knew," she almost sobbed.

As the main dance teacher of the group, Hoseok took it upon himself to ease her into the choreography of Fire that she said she wanted to learn. He couldn't help but wonder if their staff and managers were looking for them right now. If they would even be aware that something went wrong. Maybe Taehyung or Jungkook would alert someone if they tried to reach them and they didn't respond. But Hoseok found he was somewhat calmer knowing that the objective of the group of their kidnappers was to just make money of some fan signing. That seemed harmless enough. As long as they would comply, everything would be fine. Hoseok rather did not think about how the people planned to prevent them from filing a lawsuit later.

When he entered the observation room as they had nick-named it, he found Eva sitting by the table leaning her head onto her hand, looking at the screen in front of her thoughtfully. When she noticed him she smiled.

"When I see you in that waiting outfit, I wonder if you maybe picked the wrong job, going into the surveillance business," she smirked. "You look cute."

He laughed. "Turns out, I'm much more handy with the cameras. Waiting is harder than I expected."

"Yeah, I saw," she returned. He walked over to the tiny sofa where he had discarded his clothes before and unbuttoned his shirt.

"How are they doing?" he asked, nodding to the screen that was turned away from him.

"Pretty well, I'd say," she replied. "They fell asleep in each other's arms, it's adorable."

"Are you going to fill me in on the details, now that we have a moment?" he asked. They hadn't had a chance to talk since that morning and he was curious how their plan was turning out.

"Sure," she leaned back in the chair. "Well… I had the guys install the cameras when Taehyung and Jungkook were having breakfast. We ran into some technical difficulties so it took a bit longer than I expected. Fortunately, Kristen called me from the reception that Taehyung was heading upstairs and I was able to hold him by the elevators so that the guys could finish and get out of there. He actually asked me for a wheelchair for Jungkook, would you believe that?" she laughed.

"I would, actually. He was always… thoughtful," he replied.

"Well anyway, I was able to get him one just for the fun of it, you know. I thought it would add a nice emotional touch to Jungkook's… well, unstable mentality let's say."

He wondered why she would speak so politely about it, even though she knew Jungkook meant nothing to him. When they had bribed the boy's shrink into talking, they came away with some fairly disturbing information on Jungkook's mental struggles to cope with the idol lifestyle. He suffered with depression, emotional outbursts, fear of loneliness, and though he was fine among other people, he apparently hung onto his friends and his artwork just to keep from being alone in a room. They devised the twisted ankle thing on that basis, so that he would have to stay alone in a room for a few hours before Taehyung came back, heartbroken from his fight. He remembered how Eva had said, _'Take an empty room, add some mental instability, mix it with relationship heartbreak, let it broil for a bit and voila! Delicious fan service, ready to be served.'_

From the way she gazed lovingly at the computer screen, he assumed that her manipulation broth was indeed ready to be served. He finished buttoning up the dress shirt he had changed into and tucked it into his pants.

"After Taehyung got back to the hotel, he found Jungkook in a wonderful state of mental distress and, as expected, offered him his shoulder to cry on," she finished with a satisfied smile. "Tell me something," she looked up at him with searching eyes, as if she were trying to read his mind.

"What?"

"Do you love him?" she asked, her eyes narrowed with interest.

"Don´t be ridiculous," he huffed in response.

She shrugged. "Okay, just curious," she said, smirking as if she knew something he did not. She did that a lot. He remembered how nervous that used to make him in the beginning when he first met her, a green college boy he had been. Over time, he figured it was just a kind of attack mechanism she used to get under people´s skin and he liked it so much he made an effort to learn how to do it himself.

"I love the idea of him," he said after a while when he finally put on his watch, stuck the radio piece in his ear and came around the table to look at the two boys, who were peacefully sleeping on the bed.

"Yeah, I get that," she nodded and he knew she was probably the only person who would understand what he meant. "So is there any deeper reason to why you didn´t want him involved in this?"

He shrugged.

"Okay. Because I thought of something brilliant and I need to know if you´re down," she smiled and it looked like a predator baring its teeth. He felt the familiar pang on excitement and terror in his chest.

"How about instead of getting them here for the fan signing as planned, we do a bit more cooking?" she suggested mysteriously.

"Elaborate," he prompted and leaned onto the wall behind him, folding his arms.

She turned halfway around on her chair. "We got some nice cuddling action from just from the plain ingredients. If we add some spices too, maybe the dish could get a bit hotter, if you know what I mean."

He knew exactly what she meant. "Even if we drug them, how do you know they will do anything? Is Jungkook even gay? Even the shrink didn't know," he pointed out.

"Jungkook is primarily a virgin made into a sex symbol. I don't know how much predisposition he has for sucking cock but what I do know is that he wants to get rid of that label as soon as possible and if it's someone he trusts unconditionally, then even better. Besides, I have stuff that would make him hump the door, if he was alone in that room."

He forced a laugh. "That _would_ make for quite the video." He knew she could sense his unease even before her smile faded and her expression turned serious.

"What I need to know is whether you're okay with it or no. I cannot do it alone."

He felt a little swell of pride in his chest and mentally scolded himself for feeling like a little boy praised by his parents. He looked at the screen again, namely at Taehyung's peaceful sleeping face. He looked young. Somewhere from inside a little voice called out that the boy would be happier if he got to share his life with someone who could give him what other people couldn't. Someone who understood.

"How are we going to do it?" he turned to Eva and watched her face light with excitement. He felt like he was agreeing to work with the devil. Yet again.


End file.
